Dental appliance



Sept. 8, 1925. 1,552,837

P. E. GABEL ET AL DENTAL APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 15 1923 2 Shuts-Shut 1 NAAU HHI I vllvull I INVENTOR 5 Give 8. "5

. BY mi W, W 24M 4p; ATTORNEY Sept 8, 1925. I 1552 837 P. E. GABEL ET ALINVENTORS,

7J5; ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL E. GAIBEL AND ELMER L. KNIPPLING, 0F DAYTON, OHIO.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

App1ication filed August 15, 1923. Serial No. 657,469.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL E. GABEL and Emma L. KNirrLINo, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDental Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to new and useful improvements in dentalappliances, and has particular reference to a combination bubblingfountain and sanitary cup holder which is readily convertible from oneuse to the other so that'the preference of the patient for either onemay be easily met. It also enables the bubbling fountain and cup fillingtubes to be controlled by a single valve.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is aside eleva-- tional view, partly broken away, of our dental appliance asit appears when the sanitary cup holder is employed. Figure 2 is asimilar view of our dental appliance showing the use of the bubblingfountain in place of the sanitary cupr And Figure 3 is a top plan viewthereof.

Throughout the specification and drawings, similar reference charactersdenote corresponding parts.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating our invention, the numeral 1designates an arm of a dental unit, to which there is secured theupright base portion 2 of a double-bend tubular casting 3. The latterterminates at its upper end in an enlarged inwardly tapering base 4which is internally threaded to receive the externally threaded bottompart of an upwardly and outwardly flaring cup holder 5 preferablyconstructed of porcelain.

Formed in the casting 3 is a water inlet hole 6 and a drain hole 7 forcommunication at their lowerends with tubes 8 and 9 respectively in thearm 1 of the dental unit. On the outer portion of its first bend, thetubular casting 3 has an offset part 10 from which there projectsupwardly a flushingtube receiving portion 11. Sorewed into the latter isa threaded coupling sleeve 12 in which there is firmly secured, by meansof a nut 13, the lower end of a Venturi flushing and saliva ejectingtube 14. At its upper end this tube is bent over the edge of a cuspidorbowl 15, and then projects clownw-ardly and laterally within it for thepurpose of thoroughly flushing it. Opposite its Venturi portion 16, thetube 14L has a lateral projection 17'to receive a saliva-ejector (notshown).

The entrance of water into the tube 14 for both its flushing andsaliva-ejecting pur-- poses, is controlled by a single valve 18.

The latter, which is of the screw type, has

ed to receive the stem of the valve 18,

and externally threaded to receive a cap nut 21. A hole 22 extendsdownwardly from the vertical portion 11 of the offset part 10 of thetubular casting, for communication through an opening 23 in the wall ofthe latter, with the water inlet hole 6 in the casting. The conical end20 of the valve 18 is adapted to open and close this opening 23 when thevalve is turned in one direction or the other, for the purpose ofadmitting water to, or prevent ing it from entering, the tube 14. l/Vhenwater is admitted to this tube, it will flush the cuspidor bowl 15 andat the same time, if desired, draw saliva from the mouth of the patientthrough the attachment of the saliva-ejecting device to the lateralprojection 17 of. the tube. The important feature of the constructionis, that thesingle valve 18 will control the flow of water for bothflushing and saliva-ejecting purposes, as

against-the two-valve construction which is ing one, will now be,described. Just below the internally threaded part of the cup holdingbase 4 of the tubular casting 3, is an integral web 24' which has acentral screw-threaded opening 25 which communicates with the waterinlet hole 6. This web also has a side opening 27 through which wastewater from the cup-holder 5 may freely flow into the drain hole 7 in thecasing 3.

When it is desired to use the appliance as a cup holder, a plug 28 isscrewed into the central hole 25 in the web 2 1, and upon radialnotched-ledges 29 formed on the lower interior part of the cup-holder 5,a tapering metal sleeve 30 supporting a paper cup 31 is placed. (SeeFigure 1.) For the purpose of delivering water to the latter, a faucettube 32 is provided. Formed on the top of the casting 3 nearthe'cup-holder is a tubular projection 33 which receives a couplingsleeve 3% in which the lower end of the faucet tube 32 @is he'ld'by acoupling nut 35. This tubular projection is over an opening in the wallof the tubular casting that communicates with the water inlet hole 6. Adouble bend partition 36 extends across the latter in front of thetubular projection opei'i'ingja'nd has a portion running lengthwise ofthe tubularcastingtha't'colitains an opening which is uncovered andclosed by the needle point end 01 a screw valve 37, similar to the valve18, which is screwed transversely into the casting through 'a lateralprojection 3'7 on it. \Vhen the valve 37 is turned to withdraw itsneedle point end A from the opening in said partition, water will "flow"through theholeG into the faucet tube 32, and from the bent-overend ofthe latter, into the cup 31. r a 7 Now whenit is desiredto use abubbling fountain in the appliance, the coupling sleeve 3t and the tube32 are removed from the tubular casting 3. The. plug 28 which closed thecentral hole 25 in the web 2% of the cup-holder, is removed therefromafter the cup'l1olding band 30 and cup 31 are lifted out. This plug isthen screwed into the tubular projection 33 in the. casting. A fountaintube 38 having a lower externally threaded end adapted to be receivedby-the central hole 25 in the web portion24; of the cup-holder, is thenscrewed into said hole. Thistube is'providedwith an enlargedapertu'redtop 39 'Whic'his preferablyconstructed offporc'elain, and fromwhich water will bubble when the valve 37 is again'turnedon, sincethetubular 'projection 33 is now closed by the'plug 28 andthe hole 25 inthe web portion 24 of thecup-holder is open to said tube. (See Figures 2and 3.)

It will now be seen'that by changing the plug28 from the hole 25 intheweb 24 0f the cup-holder 5'to theprojection 33 on the tubular casting 3,and vice versa, our appliancemay be readily prepared to receive thebubbling fountain or sanitary cup att'a'clnnent's hereinbetoredescribed. Furthermore, the flow of water through the bubblingf-ountain'tube 38'or the faucet tube 32 will be controlled by the singlevalve 27 in place oi a separate valve for each attachment.'llie'devic'e'maybe economically constructed, and can be easily attachedto a dental unit for use in proximity to the cuspidor bowl '15 asjin'thepresent instance.

We do not wish to be limited to the detailsof construction andarrangement here- I v l v I I l 1n shown and descrlbed, and any changesor modifications may be made therein within combination witha tubularsupporting membercontaining a liquid inlet passage and a liquid drainpassage, of a cupholder mounted on the outer end of said member, saidmember containing a hole near the cuphold'er, a web in the cup-holderhaving an inlet openingthrough which the liqu'idmay flow into thecup-holder from 'the liquid 'inlet passage in the supportingmember andan outlet opening communicating with the drain passage in said meniber,and a plug insertible'i'n either the inlet opening in said web or inthe'hole in the supporting member for the purpose specified. I

2.}In a deviceoithe type described, the combination with a tubularsupporting member containing a liquid inlet passage and aliquid drainpassage, of a cupeholder mounted on the outerend ot said member, saidmember containing ahole' near the cupholder, a web in the cup-holderhaving an inlet opening through which the liquid may flow into thecup-holder from the liquid inlet passage in the supporting member and anoutlet opening communicating with the drain passage in said member, aplug insertible in either the inlet opening insaid Weber in the hole inthe supporting memher, and a fountain tube atla'pted'tO be illserted inthe inlet opening in' the web ofthe cup-holder whensaidplug'is insertedinithe hole in the 's'up'portingmember.

3. A -dental appliance comprising a tubular casting, a cup-holdersecured on -the outer end of said c'as'ting and communicating therewith,said tubular casting containing a liquid-inlet passage anda liquid-drainpassage 'ezitending'parallel'with, and below, the latter passage, afaucetprojecting from the fliquid-inlet passage upwardly and overthecup-holder, and'aweb inthe cup-holder h'avingacentral opening throughwhich the liquid may'flow into the cup-'holde'r from the liquid-inletpassage in the tubular casting, and 'liavinga side opening through whichthe waste liquid may flow from the cup-holder into the drain passage inthe tubular casting.

"I'nfWitness whereof we "have hereunto set, our han'dsthis 13th day ofAugust, 1923.

P AUL jE. GABEL.

ELMER L. KNIPPLING.

